Palestinians must deal with Hamas [Letter]

I'd like to respond to the letter from Eddie Brooks regarding Michael Zimmer's column regarding Hamas.

First of all, I never thought I would agree with Michael about anything, but that just shows you that anything can happen.

While there might be some evidence of repression of Palestinians by Israelis since 1947, I can't find any evidence regarding suppression of Christians. If we go back a little further in history, though, we can see lots of suppression of Jews and Christians by Muslims, for reasons of religion, in that area going back to the beginnings of Islam.

Then, of course, there was the wholesale slaughter of Muslims and Jews by Christians during the crusades. Historically, it just depends on who holds the power.

In 1947, Britain attempted to divide its Palestinian Mandate, but it was the Palestinians, along with other countries, that refused the compromise and attacked the fledgling Israeli state. They claimed that it was their land, going back to the 7th century. If you go back further, though, the land belonged to the Jews, at least according to the Old Testament. Before that it was pagans, probably ancestors of the Palestinians, so whose land is it, really?

As we proved to the Native Americans, it belongs to those who can keep it. Let me emphasize that this is not a religious issue. Palestinians' coreligionists in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and others do not support Hamas. In fact, Egypt, along with the U.S. and Israel have declared Hamas to be a terrorist organization.

I read in the paper that many Palestinians, uprooted from their homes, just want peace. From what I read, they can have it easily, by getting rid of Hamas. That's what millions have done elsewhere. For example, all of East Europe rose up and threw out the communists. They now live in peace with the West. Sooner or later, the Palestinians are going to have to realize that their government is failing them by constantly attacking their neighbor, targeting civilians in nearby communities, and, most recently, Tel Aviv.

Brooks should ask himself what he would expect his government to do if Mexico began launching rockets at El Paso. This is not blind support of Israel by Zimmer and others. It is reasoned support for a country that simply wants to get along with its own neighbors